1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of appliances and, more particularly, to a system used to control the programming and display for multiple appliance units.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Many appliances available in the marketplace today incorporate electronic controls. A typical electronically controlled appliance unit will be provided with a dedicated control system and, where applicable, a dedicated display. For one reason or another, certain appliance units are sometimes combined such as, for example, dual cooking ovens in the form of upper and lower wall ovens. Such an oven arrangement not only provides a user with an increased volume in which food items can be cooked, but advantageously enables the user to simultaneously perform distinct cooking operations. In addition, household ranges have now been introduced into the marketplace which incorporate upper and lower ovens in addition to conventional surface heating elements.
In conventional dual oven wall units, separate controls and displays are provided to enable the ovens to be used and controlled individually, as well as simultaneously. Typically, identical control and display panels are provided for the upper and lower ovens respectively, with the associated control systems functioning completely independently of one another. More modern systems generally utilize alpha-numeric displays to convey to the user programming times and the like. In any case, separate displays are provided so that the user is provided information dedicated to a particular oven.
Providing separate control and display systems can considerably add to the cost of the overall appliance. In addition, it is often the case that both ovens are not needed simultaneously. A majority of the time, only one of the ovens is, in fact, going to be utilized. For at least these reasons of cost and frequency of use, it is considered that providing two separate and distinct control and display systems is not efficient. This is also true in other types of combined appliance units. However, the possibility of utilizing a single control and display system for multiple appliance units can raise some further concerns, such as how information is clearly conveyed to the user regarding which unit is being controlled or, if both units are being utilized, how the units are separately programmed.
Based on the above, there exists a need in the art of appliances for a control system that can be efficiently and effectively used to program and display operational information for multiple appliance units utilizing a common control and display unit.
In accordance with the present invention, multiple appliance units are provided with a common program control and display system. In a preferred form of the invention, the program control and display system is utilized in connection with upper and lower ovens incorporated in a range which also includes various surface heating elements, with the system including a control unit programmed with priority and over-ride features for enhancing the operation of the range. In accordance with the invention, a control panel is provided with an alpha-numeric display having certain zones dedicated to convey information concerning the operation of a respective one of the ovens, as well as at least one common display zone used to convey information concerning either of the ovens. In order that the user can be certain which oven the common display zone refers to, an information link is incorporated as part of the display. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the information link takes the form of a display bracket extending from a dedicated display zone to the common display zone in order to indicate that the information presented in the common display zone reflects an operational feature or the like about the oven associated with the dedicated zone.
In addition to providing an enhanced display arrangement, the control system of the present invention is designed to ease the inputting of programming information by a user, as well as to convey status information to the user. Preferably, these programming features work in conjunction with the information link to establish a desired operational mode for either or both of the ovens. For instance, if the information link is associated with the upper oven which is operating in a baking mode, the user can readily alter the bake time or temperature without requiring the activation of a dedicated bake establishing control element. On the other hand, if the information link is associated with the upper oven and changes are desired to the operation of the lower oven, the information link can be shifted to reflect that any engaged time or temperature controls will affect the lower oven. In the most preferred embodiment of the invention, one of the ovens, such as the upper oven, is established as a higher priority oven such that the information link will default to a position associated with this oven after the programming operation is complete. Furthermore, system fault messages are also given priority.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.